House plans welcomed

David Sedgwick

Plans to build nearly 200 new homes near Northumberland’s newest hospital have been welcomed by one local business.

Banks Property has submitted outline plans for 194 homes near the new Emergency Care Hospital in East Cramlington.

John Batey, owner of J B Motors on the nearby East Cramlington Industrial Estate, says it is important to continue bringing investment to the area.

He said: “It makes sense to make new homes available close to the new hospital, and it would also mean we’d continue to see new investment coming into East Cramlington, which would be welcomed by everyone and would continue the improvements we all want to keep happening.”

“Most of our work comes from in and around Cramlington, so from our own point of view, having lots of new car owners coming into the area would potentially be a great boost for us, and I’m sure all the other businesses around here would similarly welcome an increase in the number of customers to whom they might sell their goods and services.”

Mark Dowdall, environment and community director at The Banks Group, said: “We’ve had significant support over the last few months from people in the area about what we’re looking to do in their community, and John is one of many local business owners who’ve been keen to find out more about our plans.

“The Chapel View development would help to address the clear and increasingly pressing need across the north east to boost the available supply of quality homes, and it’s located in an area where we are certain there will be strong demand for the type of scheme that we are proposing.”

A planning decision by Northumberland County Council on the Chapel View development is expected later in the summer.

For further information on Banks’ outline plan visit www.banksgroup.co.uk/chapel-view